clarity of thought, or wo unto the hyprocites, or my political repentance

The process of writing often helps me realize what it is I really think about something.  When I was a student writing papers it often occurred that I would finish up all 10 pages (why are papers always 10 pages?  And why was that never enough room for me?  Thoughts for another day...), write my conclusion, and then find my real thesis.  The next draft would start with the preceding draft's conclusion as introduction and the process would begin again.  Eventually I figured out what I really thought.

As I been pondered the last angry political post I realized, gasp, that I have some political repenting to do.  And not just about writing about a conversation without first asking the person (sorry sister-in-law's husband!).  I realized, although I think I've known it all along and just chose not to think too much about it, that my attitude is a big fat part of what I see as political problems.  I rant and rave about the blame game and polarization and extreme politics and then I sit on my tush and choose to do nothing.  I distance myself from voters who are willing to actively engage in the political process and stick my tongue out at them.  I won't play until they come to my playground.  I want a political party to look and think just like me before I'll step on board.  But here's the thing, it's never going to look or think anything close to me if I don't dive in and share what I think.  I complain about extreme politics, but people who are extremely conservative and extremely liberal are the only ones voting (hyperbole, I know).  Politicians appeal to the people who elect them.  If I want something different then I need to be loud enough that someone wants to appeal to me. 

So here's my plan: I'm not hiding from politics anymore.  I'm diving in.  I'm going to do something everyday to inform myself.  I'm not going to stop reading or change the radio station because I don't like the way someone is talking about something.  I'm going to push my anger aside and listen.  I'm going to try to see past the extreme way people talk about politics and see what the heart of the matter is.  I know I can't know everything, that's why we live in a Republic, folks.  But I can try to learn as much as is prudent for me in my situation.  And then I'm going to join a party.  And I'm going to vote in the primary.  And by a party, I mean the Republican party.  It's just that it still makes me a little queasy to think about and writing it makes it real.   This does not mean I will always vote strait ticket Republican and it does not mean that I love the Tea Party.  I'm joining this party because I feel it closer resembles me than the other alternatives.  I do plan on being as involved as I can be.  Like (eventually) getting involved at the local level and all that jazz. Because that's where my opinions can really be heard and actually mean something.  I'm going to stop letting other people's votes count for me.  

Maybe this isn't the best place or time, but I still do have issues with the party I'm about to join I need to get off my chest before I make the leap.  The hardest thing for me is that I feel like this party often misses that policy applies to people.  Social issues like immigration, abortion, same sex marriage, and even health care reform are not black and white issues to me.  I don't believe in abortion as a practice, but my heart aches for the woman who can't see another option.  I believe in the sanctity of traditional family, but it hurts when I see people who love each other and are denied basic rights that can be attained through a simple legal contract.  I believe in the law, but I also believe that immigrants are people, most of whom come here with noblest of intentions.  I'm not sure how I feel about health care reform, I do know that I'm an uninsured American and sometimes it sucks.  I don't necessarily disagree with Republican ideas on these issues, I do disagree with the way these issues are talked about.  Would it hurt to have a little compassion and recognize that we're messing with the way people make decisions and live their lives?  Can we acknowledge that these issues are complex and there's more than one side to the story and there might be more than one right answer and that any right answer will probably include compromise?  And can we please take notice that real people with real families live in countries with sucky governments we choose to go to war with? 
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. 

Now that the confession is over, I need your help.  Where do you get your information?  What's your favorite way to stay informed?  I don't have all day to read, but I don't want to only read one perspective either.  Do you have a favorite news station or political blog?  Is there a great podcast I can subscribe to?  Thanks for your help!

Hi, my name is Kayce, and I'm not a Republican

A few weeks ago at a birthday party for my husband's grandfather, my sister-in-law's husband (holy smokes that was a lot of family relationships) asked me who I would be voting for in the upcoming Republican Primary.  I wrongly told him I hadn't yet decided and then proceeded to launch into all of my political frustrations and anger.  I feel kind of badly for the way the conversation went.  He had no idea (nor did I for that matter) what was coming when he asked me such a simple question.  But I also feel badly that I gave the wrong answer.  I told him I hadn't yet made up my mind because I was on political hiatus and knew nothing about anyone.  Oops, the correct answer is: I won't be voting for anyone because I won't be voting in the Republican primary.  I'm not a Republican.  Please don't stone me.  At this point in my life I choose to not affiliate with a political party.  My ideas are all still young and my frustrations with parties are much too intense for me to make that kind of leap.  If it were an open primary, I'm certain I would vote in it.  I voted in the Democratic primary in 08 because I could.  Please, put your stones down and hear me out here.

One of my biggest frustrations with party politics right now is the big fat blame game.  I've come out of my political hiding and started listening to the news again in the mornings when I go to the gym.  This is only a small step I know, but it is a step.  Let me sum up for you what I heard this morning.  Republicans say that every single thing bad that has ever happened since 2008 is a direct result of President Obama.  Republicans also say that any good thing that has ever happened since 2008 happened in spite of President Obama.  Really, folks?  Is this how we're talking about our world now?  I'm not in love with President Obama's politics, and I'm not dismissing any blame (anyone else see my blame as ironic in this post?) from democrats.  What I'm saying is, WE NEED TO GROW UP!  I'm guessing that a large part, maybe even most, of what happened good or bad since 2008 has little to do with President Obama.  I hear people saying the President can't create jobs, but they'll only vote for someone who can create jobs.  The President has to cut spending and balance the budget, but please don't take away any services or find ways to increase revenue (I get that a lot of money is wasted, but I still think voters are a little ridiculous in their demands here).  May the man who stands in front of the most American flags during his campaign speeches win!  I don't love President Obama, but I don't think he hates America either.

I hear both parties touting their love for the Constitution and railing the other party for destroying it.  I think we've all started using the Constitution as a crutch and a means to make the other guy look bad.  We read what we want in it and conveniently disregard the rest.  In part of the conversation I had with my sister-in-law's husband he said that he didn't agree with one candidate's stance on abortion or some other social issue like that.  (please, don't misread this either, he's a great guy who is very involved and understands the importance of local and legislative politics, I highly respect his opinions).  Last time I looked at Article 2 of the Constitution, the President really has little Constitutional power to deal with social issues.  Maybe he can talk about it in his State of the Union address (which, by the way, was never intended to be a giant campaign speech, either).  He is not granted the power of chief legislator, or America's dictator, or God, or fairy godmother.  What he believes will not always come to pass in his presidency (please note that I refer to him and his because I'm lazy.  I think a woman president would be super cool and perfectly capable).  Honestly, I think it's high time we stop giving the President so much darn credit (good and bad) and see him for what he is, one man in a large government.  I think if we put the President in his place as voters then a lot will happen to put him in his place in the government.  But that means we have to stop looking at one person to fix all of our problems.  It also means we have to stop blaming one person for all of our problems.  Maybe that's just too much responsibility to take on.

I wish we could pay this much attention to our local elections and the elections of our representatives and senators who do have real power to deal with things like social issues..  I wish we could stop talking about who is the most conservative and who had an affair so we could find someone to be our president who has a decent head about foreign policy and can be a great Commander in Chief of our military.  I wish we could stop looking for someone to fix every single little problem so we could find someone with common sense instead.

From the Polls

I voted yesterday.  I should be excited and proud.  I studied political science.  I take my rights seriously.  I enjoy politics.  I keep my "I voted" stickers.  But this time I'm kind of ashamed. 

I realized yesterday about noon that it was election day.  "Shoot" I thought to myself, "who's running?"  So during nap time I jumped online and found out who was running.  My motto: whoever can win me over in five minutes or under gets my vote.  I found my candidate.

I went to the church around the block after dinner to do my civic duty.  I was thrown off when I had to go to some other room at the end of the hall instead of the gym where voting usually takes place.  There were two kind women sitting at a table and one man in front of me.  The election booths looked pretty tired, not like they were holding high tech computerized voting equipment.  Because they weren't.  Ok, I can do the punch the hole in the ballot with the little stick thing.  Nope, not that either.  After kind lady number 2 practically had to rip my wallet from my hands because I forgot to actually show them my driver's license when I got it out she handed me a slip of paper folded in half.  I walked to a booth.

This is the part that should be easy.  Marking my choice with the provided red pen and walking back to the table.  But on the instructions rather than mark 1 it said to mark 3.  I quickly marked my first choice.  I chose that candidate because s/he was the only person I found in less than 5 minutes who said something real.  Everyone else just said, "I'm committed to the city, I love it, I want to be a public servant, I'm so cool, vote for me."  How could I choose two more?  I picked a woman because I feel like we need more representation in politics and want to encourage women who get involved.  I have no idea what she believes.  My third choice I picked because it seemed like everyone else was doing it.  And everyone else has lived where I live longer than I have, so they should know. 

I walked back to the nice ladies at the table but didn't dare make eye contact fearing they could see through my eyes into my uniformed voting soul.  One took my ballot and ripped a part off and handed it back to me.  "Do I put it in here?" I asked pointing to the box that obviously holds completed ballots.  Only if you want to vote she said, laughing.  I put my ballot in the box because it was the least embarrassing option.  "It's been a long day and I've never voted this way before" I quipped and almost ran out of the room.

The whole time I was cleaning up dinner and doing the dishes I thought about how ridiculous my decision calculus was and argued with myself if it would have been better to have just stayed home.  On a positive note, I now have an "I Voted" sticker in my new wallet.

Clueless

It's no secret that I'm typically behind the times in trendy technological developments.  I just got my first iPod last Christmas; I didn't join facebook for an internet eternity, and then waiting a year to actually use it; I didn't even know what a blog was when all of my friends started reading and writing them; I finally gave up using floppy disks in 2006; and I didn't have a cell phone in high school and didn't start texting till, well, that's embarrassing to say. 

Even though I'm generally behind the times, I eventually figure things out and catch up.  But I have to admit that there's one trend I just can't figure out.  What the heck do @ and # mean?!?  So I get that you put @ before a person's name in facebook or a blog comment to signal you're responding to that particular person.  However, I don't see why this is at all necessary.  So I don't do it.  Call me old fashioned.  But the lack of # in my facebook statuses is not a statement (although I don't ever see myself using it), it's a complete lack of understanding.  I don't get it.  I can't figure it out.  I need someone to explain it to me.  Help!  I must be getting old.